the birth rate is somewhat quickened, and
whenever they fall below it, it is retarded; but the increase in the
rate does not suffice to bring the pay actually down to its former
level. The descent of the dotted line is not equal to the rise, and
through the century the earnings of labor fluctuate about a standard
which grows continually higher.

The pessimistic conclusion afforded by the Malthusian law in its
untenable form requires (1) that the standard of living should be
stationary and low, and (2) that wages should fluctuate about this low
standard. In this view the facts would be described by the following
figure:--

[Illustration]

_AC_ measures a century, as before, by decades, and the height of _BD_
above _BC_ measures the standard of living prevailing through this
time. The dotted line crossing and recrossing _BD_ expresses the fact
that wages sometimes rise above the fixed standard and are quickly
carried to it and then below it by a rapid increase in the number of
the laborers.

_Members of the Upper Classes not Secure against the Action of the
Malthusian Law if a Great Lower Class is Subject to It._--It is clear
that if the workers are to be protected from the depressing effect
which follows a too rapid increase of population, the Malthusian law
in its drastic form must not operate in the case of the lowest of the
three classes, so long as that is a numerous class. A restrained
growth in the case of the upper two classes would not suffice to
protect them if the lowest class greatly outnumbered them, and if it
also showed a rapid increase in number whenever the pay of its members
rose. The young workers belonging to this class would find their way
in sufficient numbers into the second class to reduce the wages of its
members to a level that would approximate the standard of the lowest
class. Under proper conditions this does not happen; for the drastic
action of the Malthusian law does not take place in the case of the
third class as a whole, but only in the case of a small stratum within
it.

_Countries similarly exposed to Dangers from Other
Countries._--Something of this kind is true of a number of countries
which are in close communication with each other. If a rise of pay
gave a great impetus to growth of population in Europe, and if this
carried the pay down to its original level or a lower one, emigration
would be quickened; and although the natural growth in America might
be slower, the Americ